The focus of woo

[stewiegriffin81]

Originally Posted by Dixie Chick

Cancers have been cured, and the patient's mind set matters, don't you think?

There is no evidence that cancers have ever been cured due to one's mindset.

Additionally, the current evidence shows that one's mindset has absolutely no effect on one's survival.

For example:

Pettigrew, et al (2002). "Influence of psychological coping on survival and recurrence in people with cancer: systematic review". British Medical Journal. 325, 1066.

[Dixie Chick]

Technical. You're getting technical in my fantasy.

Alright, later I will find some things to post about belief & how it impacts reality. But for now.....hi! Alejandro! over here! Under the palm tree. Feel the ocean wind!

[robertkd]

Originally Posted by Dixie Chick

or squished.


I'm feeling sentimentally wooified today.

Say you are in a room, a hospital room, and everyone has their head bowed with only good thoughts to the person in the hosp bed...praying for that recovery...all that positive energy focused on the patient, can't hurt.

DC how does pretending and worse pretending to your self make the situation any better, it's only a lie. The support of friends and loved ones would help in the psychology department but not prayer, prayer is a waisted human endeavour a poor substitute for emotional support.

To me the key emotion here is sentimental, it can be a feel good emotion but it is what it is, an emotion, the chemistry of the brain the self that we experience.Remember prayer is not "energy" it is at best human emotion and it would be better to understand that and embrace the human condition then misrepresent that emotion.

Hope that make sense

[Dixie Chick]

(*I'm busy*)

[Dixie Chick]

*oh Alejandro*

*Close curtain...I shall return later*

[Fearless]

stewiegriffin81, sorry but I think Dixie is chasing attention more than she intends on contributing useful content in this thread right now, don't hold your breath for anything ground breaking.

But Dixie, when you snap out of silly we are all ears on the power of belief.

If you are trying to get marooned Dixie, may I ask why?

[Xeno]

Originally Posted by Dixie Chick

Take someone running a race. They believe they can't win. So they don't win.

Take someone running a race - they say "I think I can, I think I can" - so this helps them to win the race. It doesn't guarantee they win - but without the positive thoughts - they aren't going to win.

Belief being the important thing.

Actually, I dispute this common belief. If, as a competitor, you focus on the belief whether that is to win or to lose, you are more likely to lose. Winning takes confidence as a background but the foreground is doing what you do that makes you win. Too often, the confidence or belief is elevated over the activity which matters, and people lose, and focus more on their belief less on their practice, and lose again until the belief-focus fades and practice takes over again to supply the inner confidence which leaves them free to focus on their activity once more.

Further, this has everything to do with learned mental and physical skills and little if anything to do with recovery from disease, especially not when it is other people doing the belief thing.

I am giving personal experience and observation (and success) but am aware of no publication which gainsays it despite all the "believe to win" books. Those are mostly trying to overcome lack of confidence and to encourage more practice which is directed to the target.

[Dixie Chick]

Originally Posted by Protium

WTF is this! Have you been drinking DC? This is the biggest waste of time I've read for a while. I don't need my mods having to put up with a senseless bunch of crap they have enough to do.

You can stay here till you've earned a visa off the Island.

No playing around allowed?

[Dixie Chick]

This reminds me of the Amish. They are really peaceful people, but strict. Everything is alright, so long as you play by the rules, but when you do something wrong in the elders eyes, you get banished - and have your meals alone, sit alone, and remain separated from the group until you are forgiven.

[Dixie Chick]

I was going to google some studies, but I don't really like studies because one study contradicts another, and you go through a whole bunch of work to provide information that people just argue over anyway. So I will write from my heart.

The Power of Positive Thinking. Is it real? To me, positive thinking falls in with the Power of Love and the power of belief in love. I think we must have some type of belief - whether belief in oneself - belief in one's God - belief that someone loves you (and that someone can be visible or invisible...just so long as the person believes it...with belief being the operative force - some type of positive force in our lives.

There was a (cruel) study done years ago, maybe in the 50's, where babies were deliberately withheld touch and attention. They were fed and attended to, but they failed to thrive. I can't remember the results of the study, whether or not any of the babies died. However, the point here is that they did not thrive without love.

Is love woo? Well, love from our mother or partner or child isn't the same as belief in an invisible person - but love - is still in itself - an invisible emotion. Love, both loving others and having others love us - gives people a reason to go on. Withhold love, and life is meaningless. It is survival only.

When people say God is love, maybe God acts as a symbol of LOVE to them. A symbol they can hang their little hat on, believe in, and focus on. When people feel what they believe to be God, they feel a spiritual presence - whether the presence comes from within or whether it comes from without - they feel something - LOVE - BELIEF - which brings hope and allows the person to relax - to breathe - to heal.

People that do transcendental meditation for instance - have been known to lower their blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure. When they are doing meditation, they feel they "connect" with something more - whether or not that is true - that is what they FEEL to be true, and it offers health benefits for them.

There is that double slit experiment or whatever it is called - with electrons (?) or some kind of particles - I don't really remember it - but anyway the particles acted differently when they were being observed. I find that to be pretty wild. Can observation alone change things?

Can love change things? Can belief?

I think to close yourself off to this possibility - is closing your mind. Just like religious people do.